How’s your conference room user-experience?
Do your users always have the same problems?
We've found recently that a lot of our clients don’t know about the customisation opportunities available on their Cisco collaboration devices.
Since software version CE 9.2, a scripting environment has been included on most Cisco codecs. Combining this scripting with the UI customisations available on Cisco touch panels can add some powerful bespoke functions for your users without the need for a control system.
Changes to Scripts and UIs are deployed to a codec instantly, this means your requirements meeting can be more than a slideshow of screenshots. It can be a live test, workshopping ideas and seeing how they would look on a live system.
This year, one client found that while their staff were working from home they were using a whole range of different conferencing providers (Zoom, BlueJeans, Webex etc.) This made it time consuming to support any office-based workers who wanted to join meetings from a conference room. We added additional buttons to their Cisco Touch 10 panels for Zoom, BlueJeans, Webex and others. This meant users could simply choose the meeting provider, enter the meeting ID and press join.
Another client found that when they moved from a Crestron system to Cisco touch panels some users who simply wanted to make a phone call were confused when faced with a directory of SIP addresses and a keyboard. We added a Phone button to the front page of their Touch 10 panels allowing those users to quickly dial a phone number using a familiar phone-style keypad.
Some clients found their AV support staff needed to change a few codec settings from time to time while in a room without access to a laptop or PC. We added a pin-protected page giving them access to a selection of settings and status information.
Adding a sticker to a touch panel with your tech support number doesn’t often look great! Several clients have a tech support button on their Touch 10s which dials their helpdesk number. In the past We’ve also combined this with a pin-protected area for VIP functions such as a speed dial button for board meetings.
There are many other possibilities; from automatically joining a meeting at the same time each week to showing a warning on screen if there are too many people in a room.
Adding a control system can open up even more options, enabling communication to external devices and systems such as video matrices, audio DSPs, building management or support software such as Crestron Fusion. Generally, the control system overhead is lower than a normal meeting room program which means a single control processor could support many rooms.
If you’re interested in customising your Cisco conference room user-experience, get in touch we’d be happy to help.
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